Goodbye
by Draco38
Summary: A what would happen if story. Three chapters A/U?
1. Ashes

I do not own Black Lagoon or any of its characters.

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Chapter 1 - Ashes

Chang stood at the end of the dock as the black Mercedes drove up. Balalaika and Sergeant Boris stepped out and walked slowly toward him. As Balalaika stopped in front of him she looked into his eyes and asked, "All of them?" Chang nodded, "Fisherman found them. They contacted us as soon as they took the Lagoon in tow. I waited on calling you until I confirmed it personally."

As they turned and started down the dock, Balalaika noticed Chang's man Biu talking to four men at the other end. The men bowed to Biu and then turned toward Chang and Balalaika and bowed deeply to them. They climbed aboard a small trawler and cast off as Biu walked up the pier.

"You handled the fishermen?" Chang asked. Biu nodded to Balalaika and Boris then said, "Yes Da Ge, I compensated them for their trouble and thanked them for their time. They wanted both of you to know they were sorry they had to bring this to you." "Good," Chang nodded and said, "You and Boris stay here, we are going to go aboard for a while." Biu nodded and stepped to Boris's side.

Chang stepped across to the deck of the pt boat and held his hand out to Balalaika. She took it and stepped across herself. Their fingers stayed intertwined for a moment and he squeezed her hand before he walked forward toward the pilot house.

Balalaika looked around the deck at the bullet holes, shredded wood and fittings. "This looks like .50 cal." she said as she looked closer at the damage. "That's what I thought also but I figured you would know for sure." said Chang. Walking forward, behind him she stopped at the shields that used to enclose the cockpit of the old boat before Dutch moved all the controls inside the pilothouse. "That's the weapon that little assassin girl used." She said looking at a heavy rifle with a dolly tied to its barrel, lying on the deck. Chang nodded, "Apparently Rock had learned to use it for covering fire. Revy told me about it after he did it the first time. She was surprised he actually picked up a gun but was proud of him for doing it also. She said he claimed he never shot 'at' people, just in their general direction to make them stay down till they could get away." Balalaika nodded, "That sounds so like him." she said.

She stared down at Rock sitting in the cockpit with his back next to the pilothouse doorway, his trademark white shirt, a mass of bloody red. Lying across his lap was Revy, face down and covered in blood with her arms around his chest, one cutlass pistol still in her hand. Balalaika sucked in a breath before asking Chang, "Did she…?" Chang shook his head, "No, from what I can tell it looks like she dragged herself up to him at the end of it all and died there." Balalaika nodded again as she stepped down into the pilothouse.

The inside was a shambles of splintered wood, metal and glass. Dutch sat in his control chair slumped slightly to one side. Balalaika walked over to him and put her hand on his head. "Oh Dutchy." she said with a huskiness to her voice that had not been there a moment before. Daylight lit his face as she leaned forward and looked out the holes in the front of the pilothouse.

"I figured you would know more about what did this." Chang said. She nodded, "40 mm maybe, that or something close. Someone was playing with some very big toys." She looked at Chang with questions in her eyes but he shook his head. "No I don't know who they were fighting but I intend to find out. Look at Dutch's left hand." She glanced down to see Dutch still had a grip on the torpedo launching controls. She looked back up at Chang. "The two forwards ones have been fired. The fishermen said there were signs that a fair sized ship went down where they found the boat. Said there was wreckage all over the place like something blew up." Chang hung his head, "Mexican standoff, I guess. Dutch got the ones that got them."

"Where's Benny?" She asked. "He's down below in the computer room." Chang said as he open the hatch that led below. She climbed down and went forward with Chang following her. She stopped at the door and looked down at Benny lying among the wreckage of the electronics he loved so much, a torn picture of Jane lying near him.

She saw a hole about the size of a pineapple in the port side of the boat and one about 3 feet across in the starboard side. The ceiling, deck, bulkheads and anything inside the cabin was full of holes about the size of her thumb.

"Shell came in there," she pointed out to Chang, "and then when it got to the starboard side it exploded. She looked down again at Benny's body noting his back was a mass of blood and gore. "It was so fast, I wonder if he even felt anything." she said. She turned to Chang and asked, "Is it sinking?" she asked noting water washing back and forth on the deck. He shook his head, "No it does not seem to be. There is some water but I think it came in through the hole in the right side while they were still under power. It's a wonder this old boat held together." "Dutch always said his girl was tough, I guess she was tougher then we thought." Balalaika said as she turned her back on the wreckage.

Balalaika climbed back to the main deck and walked to the stern of the boat. She opened the hatch to the engine room and looked inside. "I had them looked at," Chang said, "they are in running order, but either they were shut down or they shut off when Dutch's control board got shredded. There does not seem to be much damage back here."

Balalaika nodded as she took out one of her cigars and cut the tip off. Chang lit it for her as she watched a white van that said U.G. Pork pull up near the end of the dock. She took a couple of draws as three familiar figures got out, one of them in white doctors scrubs, and walked to where Boris and Biu were standing.

"Are you making plans?" she asked as she nodded towards the trio. Chang shook his head, "Not really, I thought if you agree we would go over to their office and look around. Dutch may have left some instructions just in case something like this ever happened. I called Sawyer because they need to be gotten out of the heat. She will handle it, however we tell her." Balalaika nodded and said, "Give me a minute or two and then we will go." Chang nodded and said, "Alright, I'll talk to Sawyer in the meantime."

Balalaika stood on the stern and watched as Chang spoke with the others. She looked out into the harbor as the sun began to slowly set in the West. "I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.*" she said to herself as the western sky began to turn a golden red color.

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A/N: My friend who helps edit my stories cursed me and walked away after she started reading this. I don't care for stories that kill off the main characters but I got this in my head and to get ride of it I had to get it out.

Oh, after getting a drink and threatening to shoot me my friend came back and finished the edit. Hmm, sounds like someone we know don't it?

* "Sea-Fever" - John Masefield

Music list: Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright

Knocking on Heavens Door – Bob Dylan


	2. After Midnight

I do not own Black Lagoon or any of its characters.

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Chapter 2 – After Midnight

Hours later, after midnight, Chang and Balalaika sat together on Chang's couch that overlooked Roanapur from his penthouse window. Chang sipped on his drink as Balalaika's head rested on his right shoulder. Her breath slow and quiet almost as if she was dozing though Chang knew she was not.

"Come!" Chang called as someone knocked at the door. Balalaika sat up and looked as Boris and Biu stepped in and walked over to their bosses. Biu held out a half inch thick file folder which Chang took and laid on the coffee table in front of them. "Short version." he said as he took another sip of his drink.

Biu sighed, "Nothing on wishes or instructions. We found very good records on accounts and transactions. Bookkeeping was very precise." Balalaika nodded, "Rock's doing," she said, "Dutch said the best thing he ever did, was turn the books over to that boy when he came onboard." "We could get to the money if needed, but what to do with it…" Biu shrugged his shoulders, "If we could find family, we could send it to them, but so far we have nothing." "Rock does have family in Japan but they would not dirty themselves with pirate money I'm sure. Plus as far as I know they thought he was already dead anyway." Balalaika said.

"Sawyer did as you asked." Biu said, "She treated the boat like a crime scene. She took pictures, made notes on everything before bundling them up and taking them to her place. She said they are in storage until the two of you decide what to do. She cleaned up after that, but only blood and such, she did not disturb anything you might consider evidence."

Boris nodded, "We are going to search the boat again in the morning and see if there may be hidden compartments. Being a smuggling boat I'm sure there might be something we missed. We have guards from both groups on the boat, office and dock warehouse. We do have their cell phones but we know all the numbers on them. Besides the crew members numbers Benny's had only one other number in his, Jane's" Balalaika sat up suddenly, "Oh no, I forgot all about Jane!" Boris waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, we," he nodded at Biu, "contacted Eda and got her to call Jane. I thought it would be best coming from her instead of one of us. She said Jane is very distraught and will not talk to her right now but she would try again later, when she felt Jane might have calmed down some."

Balalaika sighed and sat back on the couch again, "Well only time will tell with that one." She looked at her watch and said,"I guess I better go. It's going to be a long day tomorrow." Chang nodded and was starting to get up when Biu cleared his throat. "Ehmm, Lady Boss Balalaika? We," he tipped his head at Boris, "have decided that it would be best for you to stay with us tonight." "Da," Boris said, "we feel that since a force like the Lagoon Company has been eliminated from Roanapur, there may be some opportunists that feel now would be the time to make moves we all would regret later."

Chang and Balalaika stared at the pair with their mouths open. "You decided?" Balalaika growled, "Boris, I think we will speak of this later." "Yes Kaptain!" Boris said while standing at attention. She glared at Biu also, "And maybe with you also #1 Biu if your boss allows it." Biu looked pale and said, "Yes Kaptain…err, I mean Lady Boss!"

She looked at Chang who was still sitting with his mouth open. She nudged him in his ribs and said, "Do you have anything to say about this?" Chang cleared his throat and said, "Uh yeah! We will be sitting down and having a talk about this…all of us together. Uh in the meantime Biu, I think 9 am will be good for breakfast, don't you think?" She glared at him and the other two and said, "You two! OUT!" Biu and Boris retreated swiftly to the door but as they went through Boris stepped back inside with an overnight bag in his hand. "Uh Kaptain? I had your private maid put a few things in a bag and send them over. So if you need any…" "**OUT!**" she roared again as Boris dropped the bag and slammed the door shut.

Chang looked at her sheepishly and said, "If this had not been such a bad day this might be funny." She glared at him for a moment and then sighed, "You know I'm going to kill both of them don't you?" He snorted as she leaned forward and got two cigarettes from his pack on the table. She lit them both and handed him one.

As she leaned back, he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. "Yeah and I may help you, but to be honest I was wondering how to get you to stay anyway." "I'm not in that kind of mood Babe." She said. He nodded, "I know but again to be honest I really don't feel like being alone tonight and I don't think you do either." She snuggled in closer to him and put her head back on his shoulder as he said, "We don't really have many 'friends' per se and I think we lost four good ones today." He thought he heard her sniff as she nodded. "I'm going to miss them," she said in a husky voice, "and I'm going to bring hellfire down on anyone we find was involved in this." "I'm right there with you babe," he said, "hellfire and damnation for sure."

They smoked silently as they watched the city outside the window.

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A/N:One Chapter to go! Please leave a review.

Music: Ain't No Sunshine when she's Gone – Bill Whithers


	3. Goodbye

I do not own Black Lagoon or any of its characters.

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Chapter 3 – Goodbye

Several weeks later

The engines on the battered old pt boat rumbled to life as it slowly slid away from the dock an into the harbor. Two other boats followed it as it passed the statue of the Buddha and started southwest into the Gulf of Thailand. One was an old Vietnam era swift boat used to carry ship pilots and workers to and from ships in the harbor and the gulf. The other was a yacht known to be owned by Hotel Moscow but rarely used.

The yacht took the lead once they were out of the harbor. Chang, Balalaika, Eda and others stood on the back deck of the yacht watching as the pt cut through the waves still with a grace other boats did not show. Fresh gray paint could be seen on the port and starboard hull where it had been quickly patched to make the journey.

"It will be about three hours at this speed." Chang told Balalaika as they watched the Lagoon. "Looks like Boris is handling the boat ok." Balalaika said motioning toward the pt. "Yeah," Change said, "He and Biu said they had watched Dutch enough times they were pretty sure they could at least handle this much sailing. Once the repair crew fixed the engine controls…well that's all they need to get where we are going." "Are we going out to the island?" Balalaika asked looking to the southwest. "Near there, I thought it would be a good peaceful place to put them. It was a happy place for all of us."

As Eda walked up to stand next to them, Chang turned to her and said, "So you could not get Jane to come?" Eda shook her head, "No, she said she never wanted to hear about Roanapur again much less ever come back here. She wishes someone would nuke it and remove it from the planet. Can't say I blame her, first her hacker partner gets killed right in front of her, then that whole thing with the hunters and now the man she loves gets killed here. I don't know if I would ever want to come near this place again either." Chang and Balalaika nodded in understanding.

"So," Eda said, "Did we ever find out who was behind this? I notice the Columbian's and Italian's are nowhere to be seen." Chang nodded and said, "Luak." "Luak!" exclaimed Eda, "But Luak has been dead for about what, three years?" Chang nodded again, "Yeah but come to find out he had partners in Vietnam. They finally built up the courage to take on the Lagoon crew. They outfitted an old Vietnamese navy patrol cutter like a "Q" ship, hidden guns and all. Then they got some of Chen's old associates to contact Dutch with a pickup and deliver deal. Perfect ambush only they didn't count on Dutch getting torpedoes off before they finished him. I bet that would have been a fight to see."

Eda nodded and said, "Well I guess that's settled then." "It is now," said Balalaika, "As of 1 am this morning their group ceased to exist. Our people and associates wiped them out to the last man. Every boss, solder, and family member was exterminated, every building, vehicle, warehouse and home blown up or burned to the ground. I promised hellfire and damnation to whoever did this if we found them and we gave it to them." Eda went pale and shuddered as she felt Balalaika's right eye pierce her soul to the core. "I suddenly feel the need for a drink." Eda said as she turned away.

"We didn't kill any wives or kids and you know it." Chang said after Eda was out of hearing range. "She does not have to know that." Balalaika said, "Let her report it to her bosses, let them wonder or work it out for themselves. In the meantime the story will spread and everyone will think three or four times before doing anything like this again." Chang nodded, "Yes well it's been said fear keeps men honest. I hope that story keeps many of them honest for a long time to come."

Several hours later the boats hove to in sight of a group of small islands. Chang told Balalaika, "I'm going over for one last time, are you coming?" She nodded yes and turned to address the people on the stern of the yacht. "Chang and I will go aboard the Lagoon one last time. Does anyone else want to go?" Eda, Sawyer, Shenhua and Rotten all stepped forward. Garcia Lovelace shook his head no along with Roberta and Fabiola. They had flown in because Garcia felt they owed the Lagoon Company in general and Rock specifically for bring their little family back together. Bao, dressed in a Vietnamese army uniform with a black beret, also shook his head no along with several other old vets that had come along.

Chang signaled the pilot boat to come alongside the yacht. Once they boarded the pilot boat, it moved alongside the pt and two Hotel Moscow men held it in place with ropes while their boss and the others crossed over. As they started below the pilot boat moved off until needed again.

The Lagoon crew had been lain out in the aft day cabin. Three canvas forms lay on the deck side by side. Balalaika looked confused, "Where are the coffins? Why are they in cloth bags?" Sawyer stepped forward and said, **"I did it this way Ms. Balalaika. I know much of death and the dead. I have studied funeral customs from all over the world." **She motioned at the forms,** "In the ancient tradition of the sea and those that sail it I enclosed them in sail cloth and weighted it so they would stay down. There are a certain number of stitches made to finish the shroud, all in meeting with the old traditions."** "There are only three bags though, where is the fourth?" Balalaika asked. Shenhua spoke up this time as Sawyer hung her head looking at the shrouds, "Sawyer put Rock and Revy together. She say that was how they should have been in life, she make sure they are now."

Balalaika turned away for a minute and took a couple of deep breaths. When she turned back Rotten was holding Shenhua close as Sawyer carefully arranged the folds on one of the sailcloth shrouds. The three nodded to the two bosses and climbed back out on deck. Eda stood for a moment looking at the shrouds and taking deep breaths with tears in her eyes. She then turned and left without saying a word.

"I almost lost it when she told me about Rock and Revy." Balalaika said. Chang nodded and said, "Almost? Hell I did lose it when she first told me. It was something I never thought about and for that kid to come up with all this…it was too much. I watched over Revy like a daughter before I got her onboard with Dutch. I was always so happy to see her and Rock together."

As they climbed back into the main deck, Boris and Biu stood in the cockpit awaiting them. Chang signaled and the pilot boat started making its way back alongside. Balalaika looked at them for a moment and said, "Gentleman, raise the flag." Boris nodded and pulled the lanyards to raise a cloth package to the top of the mast. With the pull of another string the package fell limp and then caught the breeze. A black flag with a white skull and crossed cutlass swords snapped in the wind. At the bottom under the swords it said 'Lagoon Company'.

They all watched the flag for a moment and then started aft. "Are the charges ready Sergeant?" Balalaika asked. "Yes Kaptain," Boris said as held up a remote detonator, "big enough to scuttle her but small enough to not do much damage." Balalaika nodded and looked around the deck once more.

As the pilot boat slid close and everyone crossed over, Boris, last onboard, looked the pt boat over one last time. He muttered something in Russian before stepping to the pilot boat. As they pulled away Chang leaned close to Balalaika and asked, "What did he say?" Balalaika said quietly, "Goodbye old girl." Change grunted and nodded as he watched Boris stand on the stern watching the Black Lagoon.

With everyone back aboard the yacht Chang told the captain of the pilot boat it could return to Roanapur. Balalaika spoke to Boris and one of her corporals who was dressed in his military uniform. As the corporal went toward the bow of the yacht, Boris spoke into a hand radio. The yacht swung around and moved to within about 50 yards of the pt boats starboard side.

"Alright if everyone is ready lets finish this." Balalaika said. Change nodded as they all gathered facing the Lagoon. Balalaika nodded to Boris who keyed the remote and tapped it three times. CRUMP! CRUM…CRUMP! Sounded dully and the Black Lagoon seemed to lift in the water for a second. Then as it settled again with a shudder they heard the corporal call out something in Russian. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! Seven Kalashnikov rifles fired 3 times as one and a bugle began to play a slow mournful tune.

Balalaika smiled very slightly as she heard Sawyer tell Shenhua the song was 'Taps' a US military funeral song. They all watched silently for a few minutes as the pt boat began to settle lower and lower in the water. Suddenly, with a whoosh and a groan the Black Lagoon slipped beneath the waves leaving only the pirate flag to slip swiftly out of sight.

Balalaika looked at Change and said, "I'm tired, let's go home." Chang nodded and glanced at Boris who spoke into his radio. The yacht's engines rumbled as it swung to the northeast and began to pick up speed. As it moved out of sight the waters of the gulf bubbled and swirled one last time over the grave.

A black flag floated on the wine dark sea as the sun sat in the western sky.

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A/N: Whew! I had to get this out of me. It got stuck in my head and I wrote it all down in about a day but took a couple of weeks grooming it. Please, as always leave a review.


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